Interest in the use of network-based storage systems has increased considerably recently. Storage servers connected to a network provide commonly available mass storage that can be shared or allocated exclusively to each of a plurality of computers or other information-handling systems connected to a common network.
The small computer system interface (SCSI) is a widely used standard for accessing various storage devices such as hard discs, CDROMs, DVDs, ZIP discs, tape, Superdisks, etc. Newer versions and interface definitions have been developed, including wide, fast, wide and fast, 40 MB/s, 80 MB/s, 160 MB/s and fiber channel (both copper-wire and optical versions), etc., however these interfaces are all storage-based architectures.
The internet and many other communications networks use TCP/IP (including the software interface layers for telecommunications protocol and internet protocol) to pass data. It generally takes a dedicated computer interface to receive and decode (or code and transmit) TCP/IP packets, and to pass data carried by such packets to applications residing at higher layers.
Gigabit-per-second ethernet (often abbreviated GbE and pronounced gig-E) systems exist that quickly transfer data between systems. Many such GbE network systems use TCP/IP on top of the GbE protocol used immediately on the “metal” or the hardware network itself. Placing storage servers on the network has been done, however there is an overhead in expense, speed and cost involved in maintaining such servers. Further, remote computers in such systems do not have direct access to their data, wherein they keep track of their own SCSI-based targets and LUNs (logical unit numbers), and directly access their own data using the target-LUN information they maintain.
There is a need in the art for an improved storage-area network apparatus and method.